


every version of me

by VegetaLGBT



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Growing Up, M/M, Non-Linear Narrative, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26035729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VegetaLGBT/pseuds/VegetaLGBT
Summary: For Raihan, it wasn't about becoming the Champion.It takes Leon a little too long to figure that out.
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 12
Kudos: 93





	every version of me

Leon spends just about forever thinking about it. What exactly he was going to say if it ever happened- _when_ it inevitably happened. 

Leon was the king on his throne. Galar, the treasure trove, his kingdom, it was all laid out before him. Unbeatable a king as he was, Leon knew it was inevitable that he would fall from the throne one day. Forever his gaze looked towards the distance, waiting for the one who would dethrone him. 

Ten years. For ten years he thought that the fog in the distance would clear, and Raihan would be standing there, waiting to knock him off the top, force of nature that he was. 

For them, there is so much that could be said, that had to be said when Leon finally fell. Leon spends a very long time thinking exactly of what to say. For a moment like that has to play out perfectly. 

Yet, when Charizard falls behind him for the first time, the eyes he meets across the pitch aren’t the striking blue he sees when he envisions this moment. They are a hardy brown full of something he can’t read with the way the world is suddenly becoming too hard to register. 

In the distance, he couldn’t see Raihan, and that more than anything else shook him to his very core.

So he pulls down the brim of his hat.

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


He is thirteen and for a while, a long while, his world only stretches as far as the field of his neighbor’s Wooloo farm. 

Mr. Collins from just down the road boasted the biggest Wooloo farm in Galar. As far back as Leon could remember, he could always go outside and see a large field of white with a few patches of green when they moved around. Mr.Collins was a kind man and had let Leon, Hop, and Sonia - on the occasion she joined them - spend many afternoons playing in the field with the even tempered pokemon. 

(They knew not to really go during shearing season, because all traces of that even temperament were quick to go when it was shearing time.) 

There is a particular afternoon where the Wooloo are frantic and causing a ruckus in a group that’s close to the house. 

Leon sends Hop to stand back, all too wary of how small he is and just how hard the hooves of a Wooloo can be when they are on the attack. It takes a good minute to locate the problem - a rowdy bunch of Grubbin who had wandered just a bit too far from the Slumbering Weald - and once Leon finds the source, it’s a no-brainer on what to do next. 

Cinnamon, his Charmander which had been a gift to him from the professor for his fifth birthday, may not be exactly battle hardened, but Leon knew he was a fire type, and bug types had a real bad time with fire types. 

Even outnumbered as they were, Cinnamon managed to make good work of the Grubbin and soon enough, they were scurrying back to the forest. 

It wasn’t much of a fight, could hardly be called a battle, but Leon still found himself breathing just a little bit harder by the end of it. A feeling like no other coursing through his veins. Cinnamon is still huffing out small breaths of fire in excitement and Leon isn’t sure who is feeding off of who’s energy, but it feels _amazing._

“Goodness me!”

When Leon turns around Mr. Collins is standing outside now, flanked by Hop, who has stars in his eyes as he looks at Leon, and someone else vaguely familiar giving him an appraising look. Mr. Collins nervously adjusts his sunhat as he walks up to Leon and gives him a good pat on the shoulder. “I came outside to help when I heard the commotion, but seems you and yer partner got a good handle on things here!” He says jubilantly.

Indeed, now that Leon is looking he can also see a Manectric by the house entrance where there most definitely was not one before. Now that there was no immediate danger towards Leon, his brother, or the Wooloo, the Manectric was contently laying down in the meager shade the roof of the house provided. 

“Yes, I must say, that was some fine battling young man.” The unknown yet vaguely familiar man steps forward. His expression is no less intrusive than it was before and it sets Leon’s hairs on all sorts of ends despite the fact the man’s smile is so clearly there to put him at ease. He tilts his head Leon. “Have you ever thought about battling in the League?” 

And then it suddenly hits Leon where he knows the man from. This is none other than _the_ Chairman Rose. Leon watches the telly, he sees him on it only _all the time._ Whether he is speaking a message addressing Galar, or introducing the Champion and Gym Leaders for a new gym season. He is probably the most prominent figure in Galar right next to the Champion himself. 

More than likely, he was here to talk about some business deal involving all of the wool coming out of Mr.Collins’ farm.

Leon realizes he has been staring just a second too long at Chairman Rose without saying anything when the other man says nothing, but just tilts his head ever more slightly so. He flusters a bit. “I...uh-” He says elegantly. 

Chairman Rose huffs out a small smile, not at all taken aback by the lack of eloquence Leon has. “I know talent when I see it young man.” 

Leon flusters even more at that, but before he can say anything a woman steps out the house. Her blank gaze roves over the tiny group quickly before her eyes snap onto Rose. “Chariman,” She calls curtly. “Your next meeting is soon.” 

“Ah already? Better wrap up here quickly then.” 

Faster than Leon can follow, the Chairman and his assistant are leaving and Leon has a letter of endorsement in his hands, Rose’s words ringing in his head.

_The next gym season starts in two weeks. I hope to see you there, young Leon!_

Leon knows that people usually do the gym challenge at some point in their lives. Most people eventually branch off and find out what they really want to do with their life, when becoming champion becomes an impossibly far dream after getting soundly beaten.

Yet, as Hop bounces excitedly next to, as Leon stares at the letters in hands, the flames of Cinnamon’s tail warming his leg from where he is staring up at his trainer, Leon _knows_ \- can feel it in his bones- this is where his life really and truly begins. 

This is where a legend will start.

  
  
  
  


*************************** 

  
  
  


Leon is _exhausted._

Of course when he was running around as Cham- when he was running around managing things to Rose’s and Oleana’s schedules he was tired. There was just no way any human being could wake up at ungodly hours, work for a full day, _every day_ and just be fine. He did well to hide it from the people of course. Wouldn’t do to have them doubting their Champ-

But now, after the initial excited interviews from the press, the celebrations held in Victor's name, in the quiet of his Wyndon flat, Leon can admit he is more than tired. He is weary right down to his very core. 

He feels himself leaning on the wall when he walks inside, too worn out to go any further inside. Cinnamon comes out his pokeball at some point and Leon can’t find it in himself to protest as his Charizard curls around him as much as he could. Leon will probably end up falling asleep like this; far from comfortable, but he can’t bring himself to care all that much.

He used to be so busy, that he didn’t have _time_ to feel tired. In the few fleeting moments when he had time to breathe, he often wondered what he would do when he finally had more free time. A couple of scenarios played out in his mind, but none of them ever counted in the variable of him losing to someone other than Raihan. 

The path Leon had trudged through to ascend to the throne, Raihan met him at every turn. A worthy challenger, a fun rival, an even better friend. Leon’s never seen the end of the tunnel in the distance without Raihan meeting him every step of the way.

  
  
  


*************************** 

  
  
  


His mother had been hesitant about letting him go off to Motostoke. In the end she had relented because Sonia had gotten an endorsement from her grandmother and as excited as Leon was, he felt a pang when he saw the sadness in her eyes. Hop too. 

The boy had been excited at the prospect of being able to watch his brother battle on the telly, but that was before it sunk in that Leon wasn’t going to be home. 

It had taken _many_ hugs to get the five year old to calm down. 

Between teary and choked up goodbyes and with a good week to spare, Leon and Sonia set off for Motostoke.

Leon and Sonia have been friends for just about _ever_. He doesn’t even really remember meeting her. She’s just kind of always been there. More recently her ever loyal Yamper, Cheddar, has also been there.

Leon doesn’t doubt that Sonia loves him as he does her, a cherished friend. He _also_ doesn’t doubt that she wants to wring his neck when they are camping outside _again_ instead of sleeping in a hotel at Motostoke until the day of the gym challenge. 

To be completely fair to him she _had_ left travel delegations to him in favor or taking notes on everything and anything that she could. She had been his friend for a long time. She should’ve known better really. He and directions were just something that did not go together well. 

(To be completely fair to her, he should’ve sucked up his pride right at the start and admitted that she would probably need to navigate until they got to Motostoke.)

Whatever the case, they were stuck out _somewhere_ and the gym challenge was tomorrow. There had been a few trainers lingering around a couple of days before, but there was nothing now but wild pokemon. 

_Probably because they’re all sleeping in a cozy room getting rested up for tomorrow_ she had all but hissed at him when he voiced his thoughts. 

She was proper knackered. Sonia often got a bit cranky when exhausted so he had left her for a bit to go burn off some energy with Cinnamon before heading in for the night. All he had to show for his night outing was a particularly ornery Rhyhorn who had a bone to pick with his Charmander. Leon was sure he had chased the Rhyhorn away about three times; impressive considering all he had was a Charmander, but then again his mom did send him off with an _awful_ lot of potions. 

He watched, amused as Cinnamon, and Rhyhorn, Biscuit he abruptly decided, still swiped playfully at each other as they made their way back to camp. The one thing somehow him and Sonia and his mom neglected to make sure they had were pokeballs. He would have to wait till Motostoke to properly catch the Rhyhorn. 

“Watch out!” 

Leon barely has time to react when he looks up and sees a bike barreling straight at him. He starts to move out of the way and only completely avoids getting hit when Biscuit uses his head to knock Leon out of the way. The gravel digging into his arm hurts a bit, but he’s sure it’s much less than it would’ve been getting hit by a bike. 

He looks up at a slightly distressed cry from behind him and turns around to see the bike and rider sprawled out not too far from them, probably clipping Biscuit on his gallant effort to get Leon out of harm’s way. 

He collects himself and moves over to check on the rider. He is surprised to see the other person, looks to be around his age it seems, already looking in his direction. “You alright there?” He asks, as if _he_ isn’t the one laying under his bike. 

Leon starts a bit at the absurdity of it. “ _I’m_ fine. Looks like you really botched that ride up.” He says, because apparently camping out for nearly a week not according to his own plans makes him forget his manners a bit. 

The boy barks out a short laugh before he gets to apologize or take back his words. “Real friendly one aren’t cha?” He teases, and Leon can see a glint of a fang in his smirk. Leon has the grace to flush a little as he holds a hand out. 

The boy moves his bike off to the side and takes Leon’s hand. Leon notes that the other boy is a scant bit shorter than he is. His skin is dark, and his hair is made up of neat braids that fall around his face in a way that covers his eyes. (How can he see?) The bright orange of his beanie and hoodie stand out like a lighter in the night. 

“I’m Raihan. Sorry about...all that,” he apologizes sheepishly with a firm shake on the hand that he is still holding. 

“Leon.” He gives the other boy a smile to hopefully help him know that it was fine and isn’t disappointed when Raihan gives him an easy smile in return. (Again, Leon wonders how he can see him, but it’s not important really.) “Where were you off too in such a rush?”

“Ah..well I just trying to get to Motostoke becau-” Raihan cuts himself off with a gasp as he looks excitedly behind Leon to where Cinnamon and Biscuit are watching them with interest. “Is that a _Charmander_?” 

Before Leon knows it Raihan is walking up to his pokemon and scratching his hand under Cinnamon’s chin, receiving happy trills in response and Leon can feel himself go a little weak. It wasn’t like the Charmander was particularly nasty tempered, but he was pretty anti-social with everyone who was not Leon. Seeing as how Raihan was decidedly _not Leon_ , it was a wonder to see him warm up to him so fast. 

Raihan turns over to the Rhyhorn too and soothingly rubs his horn with a smile, “Wow your Rhyhorn’s hide is really well kept. You’re taking good care of him.” Biscuit preens and cries out happily in response to Raihan’s praise. Raihan turns to give Leon an approving look and the smile he gets is so brilliant he doesn’t have the heart to tell him he can’t really take credit on Rhyhorn’s part.

That’s when Raihan’s other words catch up to him. “Are you a gym challenger?” He asks excitedly. 

“Yea! I was heading over to Motostoke. Kind of in a rush because I was halfway out in the wilds when I realized I left my pokeballs in my other hoodie,” Raihan explains with a laugh. “I called my folks and they said they’d get them over to me tomorrow. But I still don’t have anybody with me right now so I was trying to hurry and get to Motostoke before I run into any kind of trouble.” 

“You can camp with us!” The words are out of Leon’s mouth before he can really process them. But honestly it’s not a bad idea. A new friend who happened to apparently was pretty sure of how to get to Motostoke? It was just the stroke of luck he and Sonia needed. “We’re heading to Motostoke too!” 

Leon can only assume Raihan perks up at that. He didn’t realize how much harder it was to read someone when their eyes were covered. 

This also isn’t helped by the fact that he’s never been super good with reading other people in the first place. 

It hardly matters right now though. Not with the way Raihan is now animatedly talking to him as Leon leads him back to the campsite. 

It’s only been a week since Leon left Postwick and already it feels like the pieces of everything are falling into place.

  
  
  


*************************** 

  
  
  


Sonia wasn’t very happy to be woken up by excited chattering, but she was quickly appeased when Leon told her Raihan was coming with them to Motostoke tomorrow. 

Even more than that Raihan and Sonia had also become fast friends. While Leon was excited by the prospect in retrospect, _he_ initially was the one who wasn’t very happy to be woken up to talk of Skorupi and their common ancestry in Sizzlipede and theories on when and how the two species became separate and other babble that Leon’s brain could simply not keep up with upon just waking up. The one thing he did register was that both of his friends were absolute geeks.

Raihan had laughed off his grumpiness, “Right ray of sunshine in the morning you are.” 

Leon didn’t argue with him, he never really was a morning person. 

The trio had made their way to Motostoke with more mindless chatter that Leon could pitch into only every once in a while. He loved pokemon as much as the next guy, but the more scientific side of them had always been more up Sonia’s alley. If anything he’s glad Raihan can indulge her since he really never had been able too, and not for a lack of trying. 

It wasn’t long before the trio made it to Motostoke.

And being in Motostoke stadium made him feel like he really had finally begun. 

It’s something about being on the freshly cut grass of the pitch. The excitement of the crowd as they cheer around him; a crowd so large Leon couldn’t pick out individual faces if he tried. The impressive shadows of the looming gym leaders, like titans on the field before all the challengers. The air here is heady with energy that makes his blood pump faster. 

When he looks to his left, Sonia is staring up at the same impossible sight. Her eyes are wide in what could easily be awe, but she somehow looks smaller than he’s ever seen her. Leon wants to say something, but-

“Bloody crazy, yeah?” 

Leon finds himself looking to his right at Raihan, a wide smile plastered on the other boy’s face as he gazes in front of him. 

“It’s a sight all right,” Leon whispers in awe as the Chairman speaks and welcomes in another season of the gym challenge. 

  
  
  


*************************** 

  
  
  


“We should have a battle. Ya know! For good luck to start off the season!” 

Leon and Sonia had quickly lost sight of Raihan at some point during the ceremony. They looked around a bit for him to no avail. Sonia had used the opportunity to drag Leon to the nearest boutique, quieting his protest with the sound logic that they’d probably see him again at some point since he was a fellow challenger. 

At some point ended up being not too long after Leon and Sonia set out to Turffield. Halfway through Route 3 they could see Raihan, decked out in a different hoodie, with a Rotom Phone, pokeballs and even an _egg_ (a good luck gift from his sister who came to drop off his pokemon apparently) that had previously not been on him before. 

Seeing his new friend reignited the spark he had felt inside of the Stadium earlier and Leon was _dying_ to let some of that energy out.

“A good luck battle?”, Raihan asked. Even without being able to see his eyes Leon could feel the incredulity dripping from his voice. “You’re real different aren’t cha?” 

The smile that creeps onto Raihan’s face lets Leon know that is a good thing. 

Leon may have not had many battles before, but there is something _different_ about his battle with Raihan. They are both clumsy and unrefined, but Raihan is already brimming with a world of potential,trying to call to rainy clouds and unrepentant sandstorms during their battle to heed his command. Through sheer brute strength, Leon somehow ends up winning despite being at a clear disadvantage. For what it’s worth to Raihan, Leon’s new clothes are absolutely a _mess_ from their battle. 

Raihan laughs at Leon’s attempts to wring out his new jacket and dust sand out of his hair. “To be fair, that jacket and the shirt combination was pretty bad.”

Leon frowns up at Raihan from where the other boy is tending to his own pokemon, a purple and green spotted egg situated firmly in his lap. “No it wasn’t!” Leon thought it looked pretty good! A deep red fur lined jacket and a bright purple shirt with an equally bright print of a Charizard on it. It was _awesome._

Leon looks up offended when he hears a small scoff from Sonia and huffs a bit because it wasn’t like she expressed dislike of his choices when they were at the store. 

(Although now that’s he’s thinking about her, her less than enthusiastic _meh_ response to his choices should’ve been clue enough.)

Raihan officially introduces Leon to his team while they’re camping; he’s got with him an overly playful Trapinch, Bedivere, and a somewhat proud Horsea, Galahad. If Leon didn’t think Raihan was a bit of dork before, he certainly does now. 

(With how cool Raihan, Leon didn’t expect him to be a bit of a history buff on top of also being generally knowledgeable about pokemon things in general to be able to talk on an even level with Sonia of all people. Leon doesn’t admit it out loud but he thinks it's rather cute.)

Even though they’re having fun and relaxing as day turns into night, Leon still can’t help but think about the battle he had earlier. It was _exhilarating_ and the potential for rest of the gym challenge excited him even more because having battles like that all the time? Yea. 

That was something Leon could get used to. 

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


“You need to leave this house at some point Leon.”

Leon puts his cup of tea down. He wasn’t really drinking it much anyway. “Do I?” 

Sonia glares at him over her own cup. “ _Yes_. You do.” 

It’s not like Leon has been necessarily _avoiding_ anybody per se. He just hasn’t seen a reason to leave his flat over the past few days. 

A flash of white hot guilt runs down his spine as he suddenly realizes he’s left Victor, a fifteen year old, to the Lycanrocs. The kid was strong for sure, but still. Getting to where he was now, it was probably overwhelming. And what had Leon done? 

Cowered in the wake of something he should be able to handle as an adult and left a child to his own devices. 

He’s spent the last few days doing nothing much besides trailing from his kitchen to his bedroom and bathroom. He was going to leave at some point, he just had to get his bearings. That’s what he kept telling himself anyway.

On his second day of his self imposed lockdown there had been a knock on his door. Several actually. Leon had frozen from where he was in front of the door, staying as quiet as possible, making no kind of movements to signal anybody was inside. They had left eventually. 

On the fourth day Leon had been woken up to Sonia bustling about in his kitchen. He stared at her blankly for Arceus knows how long, completely having forgotten she had a spare copy of his key, before she hustled him to his table and here they were. 

“I’m busy Sonia,” he tries to appeal amiably. 

She scoffs. “Being busy wallowing isn’t being busy at all.” 

He looks up at her, a bit miffed at that. “ _Sonia._ ” Because while he understands that maybe his behavior would eventually turn a bit pathetic, it’s barely been a week. Leon thinks he’s allowed some kind of leeway. He does still feel bad about Victor, but Leon just had his whole world uprooted from him.

“Leon.” She says back before taking a deep breath and giving him an empathetic look.

“Leon….I know that...All of this may be throwing you a bit off kilter.” And isn’t that the understatement of the century. “But Leon, battling isn’t all there is. You still have everything ahead of you.”

And of course that’s what Sonia thought the problem was.

She wasn’t entirely _wrong_ by any means. 

Thinking about what he wanted now to do _was_ a daunting prospect. Not having his title anymore was fine. He knew his life wouldn’t stop here, but there was just so much out there, and though he has some ideas, he had never given it much thought because he was busy being the Cha-

“That’s not it.” He grits out, frustrated with her, himself, the world really. Because that really is just the surface level problem at hand. 

She looks a bit taken aback by that, her hand going down to idly pet Cheddar from where he is spread out on her lap. “Then…?” 

“I’m just...I’m not ready.” Because he isn’t. He isn’t ready to face everything else. He isn’t ready to completely open up about this. He isn’t ready to face what he’s going to lose. He isn’t ready for-

Everytime he thinks about it, it feels like someone has shot a Blizzard straight at his spine. Because in losing the championship, Leon realizes something that makes the floor fall out from beneath him. 

No longer will there ever be a _Leon &Raihan _.

In losing the championship, Leon hasn’t just lost the crown, he is likely to lose Raihan as well.

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


As it turned out very quickly, not all battles were like battles with Raihan. 

The other boy had left their campsite early and had left Sonia and Leon by themselves. They hadn’t seen each other again till the duo circled back around to Motostoke. 

In the meantime, Leon and Sonia had trained and hung around on the routes a bit to see if they wanted to catch any new pokemon for their team. Leon was content with his as it was and Sonia seemed to struggle a bit with catching new pokemon and decided not to catch any in the end. 

By the time they had made it up to Turrfield gym, Leon was not necessarily bored, but something getting close to it. Battling was always fun, but nothing had quite yet given him the same rush he had gotten fighting Raihan.

Being on the pitch of the gym had _almost_ ignited something in him. He was ready to be blown away-

And was utterly disappointed.

It was his fault he supposes. He had gone a bit overboard with training and that was on top of the fact that Cinnamon was already going to make easy work of the grass type gym regardless. 

Despite that, he had a similarly easy time at Hulberry against the water type gym leader. 

(A bit funny really all things considered with his team so far. Especially funny considering Sonia herself had trouble with Hulberry gym despite Cheddar being a bit overleveled and also having an advantage. It was a bit less funny when he considered how downtrodden she looked even after getting the badge though.)

He still had fun with the battle despite the ease, but they were just a far cry from what he had been really looking for. 

He didn’t see Raihan again until after both him and Sonia obtained the Motostoke badge, both of them encountering him in the Wilds on their way to Hammerlocke. 

He had grinned at them, sleeves in a bright red hoodie with white markings and an equally red beanie situated on his head. “ ‘s about time you guys made it out here. I was starting to get a bit lonely.” Judging from the _five_ pokeballs hanging from his belt Leon would think not but who was he to judge really. 

Leon had wasted no time in challenging Raihan to another battle, which had garnered a laugh from Raihan and an eye roll from Sonia, who went to set their stuff up next to where Raihan’s camp was.

Raihan has recently caught a frankly spoiled Roggenrola, Lamorak, and a skittish Snorunt, Modred on his team. 

His egg had also hatched, into the tiniest Goomy Leon is sure he’s ever seen. (Not that he’s seen many.) She is Yvain and she is perfectly adorable in all her clingy, jealous affection.

They’re still not quite masters, but they are better, _stronger,_ more in tune with their team. _This_ was the battle Leon had been looking for. One that shakes him down to his core. 

When he’s fighting, every move, every dodge, every counter, all of it makes him feel more alive than he’s ever been. 

When he wins, he is coughing sand out of his mouth, some of his hair is still a bit wet, and he’s shaking out bits of hail that managed to get on the inside of his jacket, but he knows he hasn’t felt this good in a while. 

When he looks at Rahan across from him, recalling his last pokemon, he has the biggest grin in the world despite having lost and Leon knows he feels the same way. 

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


Leon eventually finds it in himself to at least go back home. He can at the very least have the conversation he’s very sure he owes his own mother.

He was thinking of everything he had to say, everything he needed to apologize for while she fixed tea for them. 

Observing everything around him while she did so made something inside him start to crack. 

The paint from the walls has started to peel ever so slightly at the edges of the wall. There are new frame pictures of just Hop lining another wall. Plants inside the house have grown out. The table has various new scratches left by Sylvia, their ever moody Purrloin. 

When his mum puts his cup of tea down in front of him, he can feel his eyes start to water. It’s not his favorite chipped cup he would always use. It was from a new set. 

“Dandelion?”

Looking up into concerned golden eyes that match his own, Leon can’t help but linger on all the new and unfamiliar wrinkles on his mum’s hands and face. 

Arceus.

It makes everything he had been planning to say fly right out of his head. Instead he finds himself a blubbering mess of tears. Crying. Raw in a way he’s not sure he’s done since a childhood that has long since passed. 

“Mum, I’m sorry. I’m _so so sorry._ ” 

He’s choking on his apologies, too much buildup in his throat and too many tears catching on his mouth. His mother runs nimble fingers soothingly through his hair reminiscent of how she used to when he was a child.

It was a long hour of crying from him, and reassurances from her that everything wasn’t under his control. What was he expected to do being under the control of the ever watchful eyes of Rose. 

Deep down, he knows that she’s right. He thinks it will be a while before he can really believe it completely. 

At some point when he’s calmed down Sylvia has relocated herself on a chair next to him, her green eyes looking at him with only slightly less disinterest than usual. Tentatively, Leon reaches out on a whim. When there is no immediate hiss or narrowing or the eyes, he brings a hand down on her head and rubs her soothingly. 

She doesn’t purr, nor move into his hand. But she does not scratch, or move away and that seems like a win.

Leon gives the Purrloin a small smile before retracting his hand, afraid to push his luck and turning back to his mum with a deep breath. 

“I...I think I want to continue battling.” It feels both right and wrong to be talking to her about this first.

She blinks, evidently a bit surprised before she schools her expression in something a bit more neutral. Her mouth opens a bit before closing. “Why?” She eventually decided to ask. 

“...It’s..” It was hard to put into words exactly. Outside of _him,_ Leon did genuinely enjoy all of his battles. It was something that would never not be fun. 

“Not...not because you _have_ to, right?” 

He vigorously shakes his head at that, getting what she's trying to figure out. “No of course not!” 

Relief softens the edges of her gaze as some tension seeps from her shoulders. 

He can't find the right words to explain what battling means to him, how it's one of the pieces to his puzzle. So he doesn’t try to. Instead he simply says, “I’ll be taking a trip to Alola and Hoenn soon.” For some reason he finds his gaze shifting over old family portraits. There is one in particular with three people that catches his eye for more than scant second.

It’s of him and his mum, belly rounded by her then pregnancy with Hop. There is another figure in the picture, but the glare of the sunlight hides their face. 

“Rose Tower is just there now, but I have some ideas for it. All of the other regions seem to have their own Battle facility. The organizers for the Alola and Hoenn ones were kind enough to let me peruse and look at how they run things over there.” He explains, idly rubbing his beard as he contemplates the picture. 

After a minute Leon finds himself turning back to his mum when he gets nothing but silence. He is surprised to see a subtle sadness has washed over her eyes. 

“Mum?”

Golden eyes, so like his very own, can’t seem to hold his gaze. They drift off, seemingly in the same place Leon’s attention was just at. “..If you think that’s best dear.” She sounds weary, tired, _resigned;_ like this is a bad future she had foreseen. 

He doesn’t quite understand. He can’t figure it out, and the rest of their day passes by amiably. Then a few days does.

Before he knows it, he is telling the workers from the tower to tell anybody looking for him he is away and busy. Leon knows his friends should also at least hear it from him, but well. 

Everybody should be allowed to be a bit of a coward sometimes. 

Clouds roll by as the plane flies towards its destination. Leon finds himself drawn to a group of bird pokemon, Pelipper and two Wingulls from the looks of it. The Pelipper flies behind the Wingulls, steering them away far enough from the plane and putting them back on the right flight path when they start to fly wayward. 

He can’t help but think of his mum again. Try as he might, the only reason he can come up with for the explained sadness in her eyes is the fact that he was leaving for a short time after _finally_ no longer being busy with everything else. It’s reasonable, but it just...it doesn’t sound right.

It’s not like…

Leon was King of Galar. During his reign, he has erred. A king should never only know what lay inside his walls. 

While king no longer, that sentiment still stands. 

Some time away from everything for a bit would help in the end. He just needed to keep his mind off of the main problem at hand. 

(He utterly fails to do so when he spots a duo of Flygon while exploring Hoenn. The two pokemon play very closely with one another, trilling and crooning as they huddle close. He looks away, excusing the flush on his cheeks to the hot climate of Hoenn.)

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


“I don’t think I want to do the gym challenge anymore.” 

Sonia’s words were quiet in the aftermath of another battle between Leon and Raihan; the gentle winds that blow in after the storm. 

It takes Leon a moment to register her words, still coming down from the high of another battle, but when he does his eyes search for hers. She was resolutely staring at the ground. 

Leon returns his recently caught Honedge, Trifle, and contemplates what to say.

At a loss Leon finds himself looking towards Raihan. 

Leon was usually one step ahead of Raihan, but this time Raihan is ahead of him. The other boy is already staring at Leon when he turns. 

_What?_ He mouths at Raihan, not knowing what to do with....

Raihan gives off the vague impression that he’s rolling his eyes at Leon, it’s been a good three months but Leon still has a hard time discerning what the other is thinking. 

(At some point Leon will realize that they’ve only known each other for three months and it isn’t exactly normal to expect such a deep understanding of another person for only knowing them that long. It's hard to believe he’s only known Raihan for such a short amount of time.)

In the end, Raihan huffs out a small breath before turning around. “Come on, we can stay at place tonight.”

He doesn’t drag them along, but the intrigue is more than enough to have Leon and Sonia following Raihan back through Hammerlocke from where they were on Route 6 before, to the outer edges of the ancient city. 

Raihan leads them to a moderate size house with a remarkably large pasture behind it. It’s hard to tell because it’s dark out but Leon is sure there are a few more lodgings out near the back. There are a few pokemon milling about, but it's hard to identify them under the night sky. 

When they get inside Raihan immediately ushers them to the living room, where he maneuvers the couch into a fold out bed. One big enough for all three of them if need be. Would be a bit snug though. 

“Okay. Why don’t you two get settled in and I’ll put on the pot for us, yeah.” Despite clearly being phrased like a question, his friendly yet firm tone left no room for argument. 

For a while, Leon and Sonia sat in silence, until Leon found the courage to speak up. “So..no more battling huh?” 

She kept her head down and stared resolutely at the material of the couch. “I don’t hate it...I just...I can’t think about doing it for the rest of my life you know..”

Leon did not know. Because he could _only_ see battling being with him for as long as possible. But he is not without empathy. Not everything was for everyone. “What would you do?”

Sonia’s hands came up to play with her pigtails nervously. “Hmm definitely researching...Was thinking about asking Gran if I could study under her.” 

“Oh….”

She rolls her eyes at his disappointed tone. “ _After_ the gym challenge of course. You don’t really think I would leave you to wander to Kalos by yourself do you.” 

“No I suppose not…” And then Leon belatedly remembers _he’s_ not the one who’s supposed to be getting moral support right now. “This is pretty ace actually!”

“Yea..?” 

“There _is_ only one Champion spot you know. You won’t have to stress about not getting it if you don’t compete!”

Sonia tilts her head at him with a raised eyebrow. “Is that your way of telling me you support my decision?”

“Yea..”

She flicks him on the forehead. “You’re bad at it,” Her hand retracts and a small smile breaks out on her face. “But thank you.”

Raihan takes that as his cue to talk back out with cups of tea for all of them. The way there is no steam rising off of it tells Leon the other boy had been waiting and listening for when to come in. 

“Leon’s real weird about it, but he’s not wrong,” Raihan pipes out from where he is strewn over the plush couch. “Not every tosser who’s a trainer stays one.” 

Sonia pouts. “How would you know?” 

“I don’t see your Gran camping with us to fight the Champion.” 

She huffs, but leans back and says nothing more.

Leon perks up, remembering something suddenly. “Hey why is the field for your house so big?”

Raihan turns and stares at him for a second. Leon can only assume he is blinking in surprise. “I didn’t tell you? My folks run a special breeding program. It’s mostly for dragon types, but we got some other pokemon here too.” 

“That’s so cool! Can we see them?” 

“Hmmm well. It’s kind of late so we can’t see the ones that are sleeping already. You _really_ don’t wanna startle an unfamiliar dragon from sleep. But anybody else who’s still up, yea sure!”

As it turns out not much else is up. There are a few Dralgalge floating around the lake who stare down the trio until they are well out of their space. Towards the middle of the field there are some Hakamo-o play fighting with some Fraxures and a Dragapult. A lone Haxorus napping not too far from them. Leon finds his interest straying towards the last two pokemon for a bit longer than the others.

There is also a white and black _something_ that darts for them as soon as they are within their sight. 

It darts straight to Raihan and crawls up his person through his hoodie. When it’s head peaks out Leon can see it’s a Salandit. A shiny one he’s pretty sure. Narya, Raihan introduces her. From what Leon can gather she is basically what Purrloin is to his own household. Though much more amiable if the affectionate trills she gave was anything to go by. 

He also thinks, because of her name, she must've been around since before Raihan was born probably. 

Besides that almost everything seems to be asleep in the sheds. Except for the very last one. 

“Hmm well, I was gonna make this a surprise for our next battle, but whatever.” And Leon and Sonia then also meet a surly Larvitar, Percival, and a steadfast Duraludon, Arthur. 

Sonia is bewildered by how close the two are. Leon is taken aback by this because it seems like the two are most definitely fighting everytime he looks, but apparently that is still much more chummy than what she's expecting. Leon learns that this is apparently because Tyranitar and Duraludon infamously _do not_ get along in the wild. Raihan is quick to explain that they hatched together after a trainer left their eggs here.

They roughhouse a lot, but growing up together makes them a lot more friendly with each other. Apparently Raihan plans to bring them both with him for the reason of the challenge. When Leon sputters incredulously at how that’ll mean he has _seven_ pokemon which is more than any team should have, Raihan shrugs him off. As it turns out Percival was fine with not battling, she just wanted to travel. 

Percival and Arthur fought a lot, but they were a force to be reckoned standing side by side with in the face of something they both loved; spicy curry. Which of course Cinnamon was a common hog of. They had not taken well to that at all. 

It’s hilarious to watch his Charmeleon be taken on on both sides by two pokemon half his height, careful to keep his own place of spicy curry high above either of his two enemies. 

He catches Raihan’s eye from where the boy decided to just make some more, lest the mons break anything in the house, and can’t help the laugh that bubbles out when Raihan gives him an exasperated look. 

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


When Leon gets back from his trip, against his body’s plea for sleep, he decides to go see his mum. Because try as he might, the sadness from her eyes stayed with him for his whole trip. 

So naturally, when he goes to his house and he expects to see his mum, so that they can maybe talk. 

He _does not_ expect to see his mum with someone at the door, seeing them off if he’s reading the situation right.

The bright pink and purple splatters of _his_ hoodie is eye-catching amongst the more natural colors of their house. Yet Leon somehow finds the strength to meet his mum’s eyes instead of the startling blue he _knows_ is peering straight at him. 

Her eyes hold surprise and…. _relief?_

“You came back…” She whispers in disbelief, keeping him in her sight like he’ll disappear if she doesn’t. 

_You came back_ . Not _you’re back._

Suddenly Leon realizes what he must look like. Hair as long as his dads, bags with him for traveling. His dad, who hasn’t come home since Leon was a boy. His dad, who has maybe seen Hop all of _once_ since he was born. 

The sadness he had seen in her eyes from childhood wasn’t simply for him leaving home like he once thought, but rather the weariness she had to settle into at the fear for the wanderlust Leon would develop going on his journey. The same one that kept his dad from coming home frequently, and eventually kept him from coming home at all. 

Guilt nips at the edges of his mind and his shoulders sag with the weight of it. Before he even gets to open his mouth-

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have let him sod off for much longer.” 

He is abruptly reminded of the other presence here with them. Raihan, who is currently looking at him, as if nothing is wrong. As if Leon hasn’t failed both of them immensely. 

His mum looks too Raihan with a soft smile. “Yes of course. You two are always looking out for each aren’t you?” The last part is a bit more to herself than anything, but Leon still hears it. 

Leon feels the sudden need to curl up because that is the last thing he’s been doing. For all he’s been worried about the whole Raihan Situation, he’s refused to see him at all. And it strikes him as just _Wrong._ He has never run away from a battle, and he doesn’t want to start now.

(He does but Raihan doesn’t deserve that.) 

He startles a bit when suddenly a hand is on his shoulder. A deep voice speaks low to him so that his mum couldn’t hear. “You should drop by sometime if you want to mate. ‘S been a while...Miss ya..” Leon’s head snapped at up at the waver on the last bit and-

He’s taken aback by just how much he _aches_ meeting piercing blue for the first time in a while. 

Despite still being concerned about the aftermath of his own fuck up, Leon still can’t help but suddenly, and overwhelmingly realize he misses his best friend something fierce. Everything else, if only for a moment, feels very stupid in the face of that simple fact. 

He feels a smile come easier to him than it has in a while. “Of course.”

Raihan blinks in surprise, like he hadn’t actually expected Leon to say yes, or anything at all maybe. The expression quickly melts away in a brilliant smile and Leon finds himself leaning in ever so slightly; like a flower chasing sunlight. 

Before he can move in a noticeable distance and do something incredibly stupid, Raihan is walking away and releasing Bediver. The grin and wave he gives Leon is almost _shy_. “See ya soon yeah?” Then with a powerful beat of Flygon’s wings, he is off. 

Watching him fly off, Leon feels like a fool. The feeling of _something changing_ , nips at the back of his head. But he is realizing it might not have to be a bad thing. Maybe...He has hope it won’t.

It’s never been a bad thing with Raihan. 

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


When they face each other in the semifinals, Leon can scarcely notice the Chairman giving him a pleased look out of the corner of his eye during his speech to the stadium.

Around them the excited chattering of the crowd is deafening. But Leon can hear none of it. He sees none of it. 

The only thing he hears is the quiet, “Good luck Lee.” 

The only thing he sees is Raihan, across the pitch from him, waiting for the call for them to start, clutching his pokeball hard. 

These are the only things that matter to Leon, because somehow, it is only in those very moments he realizes things are going to change. 

It’s a thought buried when their matches start the way they always do, two forces of nature clashing head to head. It resurfaces when the strong beat of Cinnamon’s wings match the steely roar of Arthur as they are both sent out. 

Their last pokemon. 

As much as Leon has dreamed of meeting his rival here like this, he can’t help but think of what a stupid idea that was. 

Because only one of them could emerge victorious from this. Only one of them could go on and become Champion. And Leon hasn’t realized how badly he wanted it to be him until just then. The heat from his partner's Gigantamax form only grows as their calls get more and more desperate. 

He doesn’t want to crush his friend and his dream. He doesn’t want to have to be the one, but- 

The Charizard lets out a mighty roar as he shrinks back to his regular form, standing victorious over the fallen Duraludon. 

From here. From here, everything will change. 

Leon doesn’t know what it means at the end of his match with. He doesn’t see the other boy before his Champion match so he doesn’t know what it means then either. And he still doesn’t know what it means when multi-colored confetti falls in abundance around him and Charizard as Galar welcomes in their new Champion. 

Leon manages to escape the festivities at some point, dejectedly making his way back to the hotel he and Raihan were staying at. He jolts in surprise when he sees the aforementioned boy waiting between their separate rooms, his body showing none of the signs of anger or resentment Leon thought there would be. 

“You blew that whole thing away. I knew you would,” Raihan says, handing him a wrapped box. “Don’t open that until later okay!”

(When Raihan is gone, and there is nobody but Leon in his room he will open the gift, upset that Raihan isn’t there so he can throw the oversized _Champion_ hoodie right back at the other boy’s face. He will then be actually upset that he can’t thank Raihan properly when he sees two pokeballs that were buried beneath the neatly folded sweater.)

Something warms bubbles in his chest as he accepts the gift. “It’ll sound much better for you when you tell people the Champion beat you instead of just some ol’ trainer, won’t it?”

Raihan laughs and just like that, every worry is gone. “It’s a good thing your battling is better than your trash talk Lee.”

Things have changed, and not for the worse. And it really is all that Leon could ask for.

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


The day Leon finds himself outside of Raihan’s door, he still has hope that everything might be alright. Even so, he still feels an edge of nervousness prickle under his skin.

Because he’s gone over maybe no less than a thousand apologies in his head, and none of them fit quite right. None of them are good enough in the least. He had been stewing on it all during his flight here, and now it had frozen him outside of Raihan’s house. Leon felt and looked like an idiot. 

Eventually Leon finds it in himself to look up - he’s been getting much too acquainted with each individual blade of grass on Raihan’s lawn - and is greeted to an eerie gaze that _most certainly was not there before._

He is very proud of himself for not jumping a full foot back and instead just putting on a smile. “Hey Modred! Nice to see you!”

The spectre tilts her head and simply observes him for a few moments. She makes a low crooning sound before phasing back inside. 

Well then. 

She’s always been a bit shy, but if anything gives Leon another hour or so to stay lost in thought in front of Raihan’s house. Or so he thinks anyway.

It’s barely a few minutes after Modred leaves that Raihan is swinging the door open with a bright grin. “Hey! Modred was letting me know someone was out front and I figured it was you. Family isn’t dropping by till later. Why didn’t you knock mate? Would’ve saved me the trouble of having her freeze my room to get me up.” 

“Uhh..” Is Leon’s very intelligent answer. “Sorry, I was...Sorry.” 

Rahan shrugs. “ ‘s fine.” He watches Leon for a few moments, and when he does nothing to speak up, Raihan perks up. “You know, you actually came on the perfect day.”

Leon isn’t sure he likes the sound of that. “Yea?”

A shadow of mischief is hidden in Raihan’s smile. “When was the last time you had bath day with your mons hmm?”

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


Leon is thirteen, almost fourteen, and he is champion now, and being champion entails many things. It’s a lot, more than he ever thought _anybody_ would do as a champion. He has little free time and it’s something Leon, his friends and family all mourn. 

His days, or aptly put, several hours he has free from time to time are put to full use; hanging out with Raihan and Sonia, or going home to see Hop and his mum. 

One particular day found Leon spending the night back home with his mum, Hop and Raihan. 

Hop and his mum had long since went to bed. Well his mum went to bed. Hop knocked out on the couch, unwilling to admit that he was knackered and Leon had to carry him back to his room and tuck him in. Now it was just him and Raihan, sleepily leaning on each other, watching foreign league rerun matches. 

Leon had been having fun. Between commercial breaks they’d talk about Leon’s _look_. Chairman Rose had given him a specialized design team and given him a bracket of time to decide if he wanted to ask for any specific look before the team would take it over themselves. The bracket of time was almost out and Leon had been planning on just letting them handle it regardless, but their childlike ideas of grandeur looks left Leon in stitches.

While commercials were on anyway.

Because as soon those ended, the matches were back on. And not just any matches, _Champion Lance’s matches._ And when Champion Lance’s matches were on, Leon lost every bit of Raihan’s attention. 

_Oh look at Lance do that! Did you see Lance just now? His Dragonites are wicked! Do you see how cool he looks in that cape?_

Leon resists the urge to scoff and just turn off the telly completely. “I bet I’d look just as cool in a cape..” He muttered quietly, but not quietly enough it seems. 

Raihan turned back to him with barely contained glee. “You’d look ace in _anything_ Lee!”

And thus, he acquires a cape - along with a hat with a crown design on it. The look of a King, or more accurately a kid playing at King. The design team was fine with it and the public adored it - for no special reason of course. Certainly not because he was jealous and trying to impress a certain someone. 

That would be ridiculous. 

But he still allows himself a small swell of pleasure when Raihan exclaims he looks like real Galarian royalty, a look for him that can’t be beat. 

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


As Leon was already busy enough during his ten year reign, he often didn’t have time to tend to the personal grooming of his own pokemon. That duty eventually being taken over by League staff at the insistence of Rose. He was way too young at the time to fight him all that much on it. 

So it’s been a while since he knew what bath day and stuff of the like truly entailed. The long suffering look those particular members of staff gave him when they returned his pokeballs should have been clue enough. 

Not only that, but he had been foolish enough to think it wouldn’t be all that bad. 

Trifle seemed to like the same polisher Raihan used for Duraludon and Leon was fine leaning against the other man and chatting while polishing Aegislash’s metal, not too concerned with the hard staredown from the rest of the team, thinking they were all just eager for their turn. Albeit, showing it in a weird way. 

_Arceus, he wishes._

“Blueberry please! It doesn’t have to be like this!” 

The small chirrup the Dreepy gives him in response before darting away just as his fingers _almost_ reach him clearly says that, yes, it does in fact have to be like this. 

_This_ , encompassing Leon chasing around his pokemon for only Arceus knows how long now to actually get on with bath day. Because once Trifle was done, the rest of his team had thrown a glorious fit at even the slightest hint they might be next. Colossal babies, the lot of them. 

Strawberry, had actually seemed fine with it overall, but it was Blueberry and Eton giving him problems. The ghostly dragons making a game of Leon having to catch them first. Eton had given him a good run around before taking pity on him and letting Leon’s hand graze his form. 

By the time he _finally_ managed to catch up with the Dreepy before he did his ghostly apparition thing again, Leon was dead on his feet. He wasn’t sure if he had the energy to even _bathe_ just his dragon trio, let alone the rest of his team after this. And Raihan-

“Looks like you’re having fun over there, yeah?” The bastard.

Leon glares over at him from where he is finishing off tending to Yvain. Yvain, who is eagerly waving around a rubber Ducklett in her stubby arms and is squeezed into a way too small inflatable pool. They were her favorites apparently and no matter that she wasn’t a Goomy anymore, her pool would not be parted with, least one wants to deal with a copious amount of tears.

It’s as adorable as it is hilarious. Leon would appreciate it more if he weren’t so distraught over dealing with his own giant babies. How in the world did Raihan have more pokemon than him, yet he was pretty much done while Leon still had _four_ whole other mons to deal with after this.

“A blast,” Leon informs dryly. 

“You know,” Raihan starts, voice coming out from over Leon’s shoulder, “They say that oftentimes, pokemon tend to take after their trainers.”

Just for that, Leon doesn’t even deign him with a verbal response. Turning the hose on Raihan after he rinses off his ghostly dragons seems like a much more fitting response. A loud, booming laugh comes easily to him at Raihan’s indignant sputters. He feels his knees scrape the ground in his fit when Raihan glares at him through dripping wet dreads that hang around his face with the weight of the water in them.

“Yea yea laugh it up. Bet’ll be real funny when I’m _not_ helping you with the rest of your team.” 

“I’m sure I can-” Leon takes one look out of the corner of his eye to the rest of his team, who immediately raise their hackles at him, looking none too dissimilar to how they normally do before a great battle and realizes it's in his best interest to promptly shut up. 

“Please help.”

“All you had to do was ask~” Raihan steps beside him and gives his team a no-nonsense look. “Listen you lot! We gotta be done with this before dinner. So why don’t you guys make this nice and easy for me and Dandelion here, won’t cha?”

An epic, protesting roar of great proportions rings loudly throughout the field. 

Well alright then.

  
  


***************************

  
  
  


Leon is fourteen and his hair is getting long. 

It is one of the rare times where Leon has time to himself. He finds himself out at the small island in the Axew’s Eye with Sonia and Raihan this time, an array of treats taken from a cafe strewn around their camp. 

As they found out, trying to sit with Leon in a public area for more than three minutes without fans coming up to them was asking for a miracle. 

This was better though in the end. At least their teams could also relax and play with each other. As much as Raihan and Leon’s teams beat each other down on the battlefield, they camped out together and grew together. It was inevitable that they were close outside of battle.

“Did you notice your hair’s getting quite long, isn’t it love?,” Sonia asked from where she was sorting through all the ingredients for curry they had. 

And Leon did notice. Mainly because he was currently using water from the lake to wash out sand from where Safir, Raihan’s new Silicobra, had spit sand in it aftering getting a bit too excited. 

“I know,” He doesn’t even grimace anymore as grains of sand bite into his skin. He is all too used to this after so many battles with Raihan. “The stylist has been extra busy lately, and our schedules just haven’t been lining up.” 

Sonia hums. “Hopefully you can get it cut soon. Your mum would have a fit if she saw how long it is now!” 

Oh boy would she. Leon is about to agree when a disappointed sound comes out of Raihan’s mouth. 

“That’s a pity..” 

Leon tries to sound as neutral as he can when he prompts Raihan with a short, “Oh?” 

Raihan looks up from where he is polishing Arthur’s steel, a process the big guy seems to greatly enjoy, and reaches out to finger a bit of Leon’s hair. “I thought it looked kinda nice. Would love to see it grow out a bit more. It would suit you pretty well.” 

And with that ringing endorsement, what other option is there for Leon? “I-I think so too! I was just going to ask if the stylist could do a little trim, but nothing too much!” 

“Oh ace!”

Leon is a very good friend, so he steadfastly tries to ignore the look that Sonia is giving him that very shows how impressed she is with him at the moment, which is to say not very much at all. 

In the end it’s not that hard to; especially with the absolute brilliant grin Raihan is giving him. 

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


The smell of spices and heated food drifts idly to Leon’s senses. He only barely manages to lift his head up from the cool wood of the table to meet the gaze of Gladiolus, the bearded man doing nothing to hide the amusement in his gaze at the sorry sight of Leon as he puts down the plate of food. “Bath day?”

“Bath day,” Leon groans. 

From a little more down the table, Laurent, lets out his own huff of amusement. “Well at least you’re back inside now.” 

Next to him, Mia grunts derisively. “Because I too, would love to come sopping wet, into a freezing cold house. Always makes me feel nice and cozy.” 

Next to Raihan, Delilah shoves her younger brother on the shoulders a bit. “Seriously can you turn up the heat you cheapskate? I’m freezing my arse off you know.” 

“ ‘s not me,” Raihan mumbles as he picks at his food. “Modred’s upset.”

Upset was a bit of an understatement. The Froslass was _not_ happy at the incessant cacophony of noise earlier. Between Crumble beating his drums to shake the ground to stop Raihan and Leon in their tracks, and Custard whipping her tail to and fro ripping up grass in her wake, Modred came inside in a hurry, ever the skittish Snorunt she used to be, and promptly froze the house. 

It had warmed up somewhat, but only barely. 

Leon raises his head and stretches out so he can actually eat when a low distressed noise comes from Raihan, who is looking at him looking torn for some reason. 

“That’s one of my favorite hoodies! You’re gonna stretch it out!” 

Leon blinks and pulls a bit at the blue fabric. “Sorry. I grabbed it because I was cold, but..I never realized how skinny you were.” 

Raihan scowls at him now. “Not all of us have the constitution of a brick shithouse.” 

Leon snorts. “Nobody told _you_ to have the constitution of a twig.” 

Before Raihan can respond, Delilah captures Raihan’s cheek and pulls. “He’s right you know! Do I have to come down here more often to make sure you’re eating? You’re so skinny!” 

He groans and shakes her off. “I’m fine! Seriously!”

Mia perks up a bit at that. “Speaking of eating more, Leon you wanna help me grab some dessert I forgot in the kitchen?”

Leon agrees easily enough, but not without some protest from Raihan. “I can help!” 

Mia shuts him up quickly with a glare. “You can help me by _helping yourself_ to some more servings. Do you _like_ looking like a beanpole?” 

Laurent smiles brightly at Raihan. “Do you want daddy to cut your food for you like when you were little? Would that help you eat more?” 

Raihan’s face turns startlingly red as his papa lets out a deep chuckle. “Wouldn’t that be a sight,” Gladiolus laughs.

Aggravated shouts from Raihan and the rebounding teasing from his family follow Leon and Mia into the kitchen, where she points him over to some trays with assorted tarts. Her red hair whips about her as she moves to also go collect more drinks.

Upon first meeting Raihan’s family, Leon couldn’t help but think they looked nothing at all alike. 

Gladiolus, Raihan’s papa, while tall and dark-skinned like Raihan, had much wider features in general and brown eyes with brown hair.

Laurent, Raihan’s dad, boasted dark curly hair and a somewhat wide frame; nowhere near as much as Leon or Gladiolus though. His long hair was always held back by a neat ponytail. 

Mia, the eldest sibling, had beautiful long red hair. It never did much to hide the perpetual look of tiredness etched on her tan face. 

Delilah, the middle child, preferred to keep her honey hair cropped to the base of her neck and her hair parted out of her face. 

Anybody would think that they weren’t related upon first glance. Having known them for years now, Leon knows better. 

It’s the way Raihan’s eyes go soft like Gladiolus’ eyes do when they smile. It’s the spark of mischief that sparkled in Raihan and Laurent’s eyes when they were having their fun. It’s the way both Raihan and Mia both run their hands through their hair when they get nervous or flustered. It’s the way that Raihan and Delilah are unashamed in their full belly laughs. 

They definitely were family at heart. 

Leon blinks in surprise when Mia is suddenly in front of him, her all knowing gaze boring into him. “Umm..”

“You and Raihan. You guys are being a bit weird.” 

Leon freezes up, hardly able to hold himself back from asking how she knows. But _duh._ Not only was she Raihan’s friggin sister, but also she was Mia. And there wasn’t much to be hidden from Mia. Many chefs who thought otherwise were out her doors in less than a few scant hours. 

She stares him down for a bit, before sighing. Her hand running through her hair a bit agitatedly. “Listen. I’ve known both of you since you were brats. I won’t butt in too much, but I know you’re going to be weird about...whatever the problem is, and Raihan’s too nice to ever call you out on it. So listen up.” And Leon does.

Because Mia doesn’t give advice often, but when she does it’s always very helpful. 

She takes a deep breath. “Just do what you’ve always done.” 

…

Huh?

“W-What does that mean?” 

She shrugs and moves to go back out, apparently intent on not elaborating. She stops for a second and turns back to Leon. “Oh also..” He perks up, thinking she’s changed her mind and will at least give him a hint of something.

He should know better.

“Can you stop flirting with my brother at the dinner table? It’s ruining my appetite.” 

Despite the frostiness of the house, Leon can feel his face heat up to a dangerous level. 

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


Leon is fifteen when he decides on a favorite color. 

There is a conference, and as much as Leon _hates_ these events sometimes, he can’t help the excitement that bubbles like gas beneath his veins. This conference in particular was special because it was to introduce the new Hammerlocke Gym Leader, Raihan. 

He and Raihan hadn’t come together, and at some point Leon had went to the bathroom. By the time he found his way back, Raihan’s on stage introduction was long since over. Now he was doing the impossible task of trying to find him among the crowd.

Well it wouldn’t be impossible if sponsors would stop halting him for a chinwag every five steps he takes.

Overwhelmed and tired, Leon eventually manages to sneak off to a quiet, secluded area where hopefully nobody could bother him for a while. He’s idly overlooking the gardens when the door opens to signal someone else has come out and is approaching him. Leon barely holds back a deep sigh as his mouth opens before he can really think about it, “I’m sorry, but I would like a few moments alone. I’ll be back in the hall soon if you would still like to converse.” 

Leon was dreading the overly polite denial of his own denial of some adult he did not care to speak to, but- 

“Ouch! So cold mate! Not even gonna congratulate me or anything? It’s a pretty big night for me ya know.” 

The light-hearted tone he’d recognize anywhere echoes out from behind him and Leon is sure something snaps with how hard he turns.

“Rai!....y-your hair...” 

Leon doesn’t think he’s ever seen eyes so blue before in the entirety of his life. 

Raihan doesn’t seem to notice or mind much at the stupid gaping look Leon is sure he has on his face. His hand came up to rub nervously at his newly done dreads, held back neatly in several ponytails. The sides were buzzed down neatly as well. 

“You like it? It was kind of last minute, but I thought it would be kinda neat.” 

“You look smashing!” Oh Arceus. Was that too much? 

Before Leon could think too much on it, Raihan’s cheeks flush a brilliant red and his only brain cell still awake waves goodbye and promptly walks into the ocean. 

(Not before taking the image of a flushed Raihan for keepsaking because _Areceus why was he so c-)_

“..Thanks mate..” The bashful look was gone on too soon, replaced with a bright smile. “How long have you been out here? Oleana is starting to look a bit cross.” 

Leon startles a bit at that, wringing his hands nervously. If Oleana was cross enough for anybody else to notice, he must have been out here longer than he thought. He doesn’t exactly enjoy the thought of going back to have empty chatter with more people he doesn’t know, but just a few moments of being Raihan have him charged enough to take on just about anything; so the prospect isn’t as terrible as it was before all things considered. 

“Too long apparently.”

“Well come on then,” Raihan grabs his hand at this. “I’ll help ya back. Don’t need our own Champion getting lost at my conference. Kinda leaves a bad taste in the mouth doesn’t it?”

Leon sputters indignantly. “It’s right there!” He knows his sense of direction could be a bit...off sometimes, but honestly! 

Raihan laughs, loud and bright. “Can’t take any chances.” And honestly, Leon wants to protest. He really does but -

He’s way too busy being enamored with the sparkles of mischief hidden in blue eyes, wondering if he’s ever seen anything as pretty before in his life.

(He decides abruptly that nothing can compare.)

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


Mia’s words ring around his head for the rest of the day much as he tries not to think about them. It just doesn’t make any sense to him.

For a bit, Raihan had made him forget about everything, the turmoil that initially was raging inside him, becomes a barely noticeable breeze in his presence. 

But then Mia gave her advice. If you could even call it that.

_Just do what you’ve always done._

Raihan was kind enough to Leon crash the night at his place. He is laying in his guest room, feeling like a fool for a whole new set of reasons. 

He glances over at the clock, the fluorescent lights, reading twelve in the morning back at him. He huffs, frustrated and gets out of bed. Obviously sleep wasn’t going to be coming to him anytime soon. 

With a bit of hesitation he finds himself outside of Raihan’s door. This feels just like earlier in the day. Unlike earlier though, Leon actually knocks on the door, hoping Raihan hasn’t fallen asleep yet. The door moves back at his knock and he is surprised to see the bed is empty. 

Leon makes his way outside and finds the man on his mind standing just a bit beyond the glass to the back. He makes his way out, determination burning brightly in his stomach where there was none before. Frustration from the cryptic advice he’s received bubbling up. “You’re up…” He takes in the way Raihan is pulled up on a chair, staring off into the horizon at the night sky. “You look like you’re waiting for someone.” 

Raihan looks up at him at that, his gaze filled with something unreadable. “...Maybe I am.” 

“Are you?”

Raihan hums. “Might be..” The stillness of the night echoes about them for a bit. “I have a friend, and I miss him. I think he’s been wanting to talk to me, but I’m not sure and I don’t want to push him.” 

Raihan’s leaving the ball in his court. If Leon wants, he can go right back inside, go to bed and they can move past this. Raihan won’t mind, as far as Leon knows. 

But…

“I’m sorry.” It’s as good as a place to start as any. Apparently for the better or worst, because it has Raihan gaping at him. 

“Y-you’re _sorry_?” Something about the incredulity in Raihan’s voice, as if it’s the most ridiculous question he’s ever heard, makes something ugly curl up in his stomach. 

He clenches his fist. “I’m sorry for letting the people of Galar and you down.”

“Leon _what_ in Arceus’ name are you talking about?” 

“There’s a new champion now. You have a better rival. You don’t really need me anymore do you?” 

Raihan’s voice becomes incredibly small. “Is that what you think?”

He scoffs. “I don’t understand why you wouldn’t.” 

Raihan stares at him for a long moment, before turning back to the night sky. “Do you not want to be my rival anymore?”

“Of course I do!”

The taller man shrugs. “Then you’re still my rival.” As if it were that simple.

Anger and shame roll around him all at once. “You have a better rival now! Someone who can push you to new heights! I’m no the Champi-” 

“And why do I care, that you’re not the Champion?” Something close to, but not quite like frustration seeps into Raihan’s voice. Leon can’t tell whether it’s aimed at him or not. 

“I’ve seen the interviews and everything people say. You’re strong enough to become Champion of another region if you wanted. And-”

“I’m not going to any other regions.” Something like relief cools Leon for a split second, but only for the second. 

“You’re not making any sense.” 

“Neither are you.” And Arceus, Leon has forgotten how frustrating Raihan could be when he really wanted to be. Half of this was his fault though, in the end. If only he hadn’t lost. If only he hadn’t failed. If only he hadn’t _fucked up so colossally._

“Your matches with Victor..I’m sure they’ll be much better for the people than any of ours.” Leon remarks quietly. Raihan looks back at him and if Leon squints hard enough,he can almost see a question mark floating above his head. 

Leon understands the feeling. 

It’s almost like they’re both having two different conversations, ones that are already hard to follow in their own context. 

_Just do what you’ve always done._

Mia’s advice circles back around again and maybe this wasn’t what she meant, who knows, but Leon makes a split second decision, at nearly one in the morning.

“Let’s have a battle.” 

Though startled for a second, Raihan takes it in stride schooling himself quickly. “I’m not posting about this. The stadium is ours.” 

Leon isn’t exactly why Raihan feels the need to tell him this, or do this. He has a look in his eyes that shines like steel. He will not be moved about this decision it seems. It doesn’t make much sense to Leon. Wouldn’t Raihan like for some people to watch him beat the pathetic former Champion? Would be a long time coming. That’s in addition to the fact that even though it’s early as hell, it’s Raihan. There are sure to be a few stragglers awake who wouldn’t mind missing a match. 

Leon doesn’t understand. Looking at the problem is not too dissimilar than trying to look past the fog in the distance.

So he nods quietly. 

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


Leon is still fifteen and hanging out in a locker room with Raihan before they have to go out onto the pitch. 

Raihan may have only become gym leader this year, but they’ve been having exhibition matches since Leon proudly declared Raihan as his true rival to the world in an interview during his first year as Champion. 

Between Leon’s Champion duties and Raihan’s new Gym Leader responsibilities, they don’t have much time between either of them and they make the most of what they do have. 

Unfortunately Leon’s squandered a lot of their time today from getting lost on the way to Raihan’s lockers, too prideful to just let the other boy find his way to him. From there it is all too easy to get lost in whatever Raihan had prattled off about when Leon burst his way in. Leon almost lets their time run out completely, but then a bag he quickly discarded upon coming in catches his attention out of the corner of his eyes and next thing he knows he is shoving it into Raihan’s hands.

Raihan blinks startled blues at him for a moment, likely trying to catch up with what just happened. Then he peeks down at his newly acquired package and back at Leon. “A gift? My birthday’s not for another four months ya git.” 

“No no! It was supposed to be for when you became gym leader but there were a couple of setbacks and…” Leon trails off, fixing his cap nervously before shaking Raihan insistently. “Come on, come on! Just take a gander at it will you!” 

Raihan rolls his eyes at Leon’s small fit, but obligingly reaches into the bag and fishes out the item inside.

The item falls out of its folded state as Raihan holds it up for inspection. He’s holding a hoodie; a dark blue one, with white fabric that sticks up from the hoodie like teeth, the middle of it is lined with a gold color that looks like the lining of a dragon. Leon's view of Raihan’s face is blocked and he takes his chance to explain. 

“It’s only fitting I have a rival who looks half as cool as me don’t you think! I know you have a bunch of hoodies, and I also know you happen to be a Dragon gym leader now!” With only the two actual dragon types on his gym team, but what did that matter. “I was working back and forth with the designers for a while to get this out. There were so many designs to choose from, but I had to make sure it was perfect for you. It was sooo hard to choose, especially when they came up with a Goomy themed one, but I figured…..Rai?” 

In the middle of his rambling he realizes there is no type of reaction from Raihan. Unnerved, he peeks around the gift to see Raihan looking at the hoodie in his hands, mouth agape.

Embarrassment starts to build in Leon’s chest: hot, tight, and extremely uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but think about how dumb of an idea this was. Both Sonia and Raihan have teased him for his fashion before haven’t they? Why in Galar did he think he’d be able to get Raihan a clothing gift he’d actually like?

“...It was just a thought though..If you don’t like it I can just…” Leon reaches out, meaning to take back his gift, when Raihan snaps back to life, clutching the hoodie to his chest like his life depends on it. He even takes a step back, as if not wanting to take any chances. In the moment, Raihan distinctly reminded Leon of a Skwovet’s whose berry stash was happened upon. 

“No!”

“Ah-”

Even Raihan seems a bit startled by his own outburst, but he gets over it quickly and looks at Leon imploringly. “You had this made for me…” He clutches it a bit closer, before excitedly throwing it on. 

It’s quite big on him, because Leon knows they both still have their own growing to do, and because Raihan seemed to favor baggy hoodies anyway. But even bigger is the brilliant grin Raihan throws at him, eyes shining like the sky after the storm passes. 

(Leon doesn’t think he’ll ever quite get used to just how pretty that blue is.)

“It’s perfect!...There is a small problem though..”

The relieved smile working its way onto Leon’s face falters for a bit. “Wha-?”

Raihan puts his hand on his chin and closes his eyes in deep and serious thought. “When I beat you, should I use this for my look as gym leader or champion? Crowd’ll probably get bored if I just use it for both.” 

Leon shoves him with a laugh. “You can think about that _after_ you beat me you tosser!”

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


The stadium is empty. 

Leon expected it; it’s not the gym season, Raihan hadn’t posted anywhere about their impromptu battle. There is no reason for anybody to be here. 

Logically he knew it would be empty, but still. 

As he glances around the barren rows he can’t help the nervous clench in the pit of his stomach. 

He looks back to Raihan- decked out in a classy fit; goomy themed sleeping pants, a basic black tee with an outlined print of a Zigzagoon and some music notes, and of course Trapinch slippers to complete the ensemble- and is sure he will see the same feelings reflected on his face.

Leon can feel a piece of something inside him slip out of place when the look on Raihan’s face is anything but. The other man is leaning his weight on one heel, face filled with the same anticipation that usually lights it up before a battle. 

An eyebrow raises as Leon does nothing but continue to stare down Raihan incredulously. “Something wrong mate?…”

“It’s…so quiet..” Saying it outloud makes the statement feel stupid despite it just being a fact.

Raihan snorting only reaffirms the inherent ridiculousness of his previous statement. “Yea. Stadiums tend to be like that when there aren’t any people inside,” he drawls, obviously trying to hide a small smirk. 

Leon pouts as he reaches into his sweatpants for his pokeballs. “You’re such a git sometimes.” 

“Sorry,” Raihan says back in a way that sounds anything but, mirroring Leon’s movements. 

When Leon brings out his pokeball, he gives it a brief clench. Something. Something inside is aching and shifting.

It is not the only thing. 

All at once the air around them becomes sharp; like a whip it crackles around them as they send out their pokemon. 

All at once the world around him fades. There is a fierce sandstorm nipping at his person. There is a harsh sunlight, heating him up to his very bones. There is a mighty storm, crashing water all around them. 

All at once the world becomes much more clear to Leon than it has been in _years._

Hair gets into his mouth as he calls out moves to his team. The battle is wild and unhinged. They are giving it their all, just as they always do, perhaps even _more_ if that is somehow possible. 

Despite that, despite everything, Leon knows he has the absolute biggest, stupidest grin on his face.

He’s not disappointed to find Raihan in a similar state across the storm raging between them.

It is long, it is arduous, it is unrelenting and-

Leon wins. 

Raihan loses.

When they meet in the middle for the polite, traditional handshake that is common after battles, they end up wrestling each other into a heap of limbs and laughter on the floor. Sand from Leon’s hair falls onto Raihan’s collar bone. Nimble fingers end up clutching at his back and wet purple strands. 

They are messy, tired. They probably look like utter fools. But it’s fine. It’s _more_ than fine. Because _this_ \- this is what battles are them; Leon&Raihan. It’s fine because this, this is-

“It’s ours Leon.” The corner of Raihan’s eyes crinkle a bit as his smile widens. His fingers thread Leon’s hair softly for a bit before he moves it up to maneuver Leon’s head to resting closer to his own. “This has always been ours.”

And everything suddenly becomes clear again. 

It takes him until then to realize-

To realize the shifting inside wasn’t bad. All of the wrong things were in the wrong places. They move and align themselves and suddenly he feels whole again. 

When Raihan takes a picture of them together, laying together looking like a proper disaster, Leon snakes his hand around the others waist to pull him close.

Raihan, evidently, has no problem with this, shifting to get as comfortable as they possibly can while laying in the wreckage of the aftermath of their battle. 

He posts the picture and pockets back their phone. 

There are dreads spilled across Leon’s forearm, dirt digging into any exposed part of him and a cold foot nudging its way between his legs.

Leon wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world because it’s _theirs_ and it's _perfect._

 _Leon &Raihan _would be fine.

The thought clears the fog from Leon’s eyes. 

(When Leon looks later he will be surprised. Because despite posting it at the ungodly hour of three in the morning, boasting the simple caption of “👑11🐉0,” it will already be competing for the spot of Raihan’s most popular post.)

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


Leon is a King sitting on his throne, until he isn’t.

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


“Are you really going to keep it looking just like that?” 

“Do you think I should add some change?”

“Um, _yes.”_

Seconds, minutes, hours, _days_ , pass by much easier for Leon now. There are many things that are easier for Leon now. It’s always been easier with Raihan around.

Raihan, who is currently looking at him like he’s an idiot for not wanting to redesign Rose Tower when he converts it to the Battle Tower. 

Leon frowns at him. “It’s functional though. The place didn’t get too messed up from…” But Raihan shakes his head at him. 

“ _Functional?!_ Functional isn’t enough Lee! Ugh just, just pass me the numbers for the staff there when you get a chance.” And Leon agrees, because Raihan has always had a good eye for aesthetics. 

(And because Leon has always had a hard time saying no to Raihan, but that's neither here nor there.)

Raihan rambles off about all the possible looks he could go for with the tower, especially considering the _overly dramatic outfit_ Leon is preparing for when the Battle Tower opens. 

Leon looks past him towards the field behind Raihan’s house and resists rolling his eyes at seeing half of his team eagerly running around the lake with Galahead, the Kingdra making a game out of splashing them. Apparently they were perfectly fine with splashing about, but actual cleaning? No way. 

Something occurs to Leon.

“Whatever happened to your dream? You know, of being Champion?” Because he is curious. 

The other man rolls his eyes and gives him an exasperated look. “You still don’t get it? Never really cared about being Champion. It only just so happened that the bloke I’ve been after since ever became Champion.” 

“Oh.” There is much to think about. Leon doesn’t miss the implications of anything Raihan just said. 

“Yea. I was honestly just going content being a gym trainer at Delilah’s gym so I could stay close to the Vault. She told me I should try at the League at least once before I came back to work at the gym and Vault. It’s _so_ cool to have so much of Galar’s history in one place. Then I realized I could automatically get into the Championship Cup if I was the gym leader anyway. Plus I know, Delilah was starting to look to other prospects. So, here we are.” 

Leon hums as he considers all of that. “And being a gym leader, you’re not ever extremely busy off season are you?”

“Ah. Depends, but generally no, not really. Why?” 

“You remember the new look I was thinking about for the Battle Tower?” 

“How could i ever forget? You’re getting a bloody cravat and jodhpurs mate!” 

“Would you like to match it?”

Raihan pauses. “...Come again?” 

“It wouldn’t have to be everyday. But maybe sometimes, we could host double battles together in the tower.” Because as much as he loved his battles against Raihan, the thought of fighting side by side instead sent an exciting thrill running through his veins. 

“You’d do doubles with me?...Of course!” Raihan’s grin is infectious and Leon finds himself smiling right back.

“Ace! Of course when the tower opens up we’ll have to have a commemorative match of our own...I was thinking we put a wager on it.”

Raihan leans in, interest sparking behind those blue eyes. “Oh?”

Leon doesn’t miss a beat. “Winner will buy the loser dinner.”  
  
Raihan does miss a beat, blinking like a Deerling in headlights. His eyebrows furrow a bit and cheeks flush as he sends a smirk at Leon. Not as sharp as his usual ones though, the glint of it being weakened by the rosy hint on his cheeks. “Is that your way of asking me out on a date?”

Leon grins sheepishly down at him. “If you’ll have me?”

His gaze is drawn to the bottom of Raihan’s face when he laughs instead of responding. 

Raihan smiles smugly from where Leon is very not subtly eyeing Raihan’s lips. “You look like you want a pre-date kiss, yeah?” 

Leon has the grace to look sheepish, “Would you stop me if I wanted to?”

Raihan laughs and leans in, a finger coming up to thread through Leon’s hair. “Who could?” Leon can’t help but be swept away by the fondness in Raihan’s tone and leans for the first of many shared kisses. 

  
  
  


***************************

  
  
  


Leon is the King sitting on his throne, until he isn’t.

On his journey to the top, Raihan was there at every turn, eagerly pushing forward as Leon reached his ultimate goal. A crown on his head, he looks off into the distance waiting for Raihan to come back and knock him off. 

Another challenger emerges from the fog and _he_ is the one who ends Leon’s reign.

Leon doesn’t care about his reign being over, moreso _who_ brought it to an end. He looks out at the world beyond him and feels more lost than he’s ever been when Raihan isn’t there. 

He turns around to take one last look at the throne and-

He feels like an utter fool.

Because he never noticed the presence who took his place firmly by his side when he reached the top. He eagerly looks into bright blues as Raihan comes up to him, ready for wherever both of their journeys take them next. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> yea im gonna be honest i don't really remember much of what this was suppose to be when i started besides like 2k at the most LMAO
> 
> As customary some notes!:  
> \- So I do think of course Raihan and Leon have had more than 11 battles but I imagine like official League matches 10 must've been the total so that's why Raihan uses that number specifically  
> \- Sorry for. Not only so many pokemon but for all of them having names. I really like when pokemon are their own characters in stories, but this fic was turning into way more of a monster than i wanted it to be in the first place so i had to cut a lot of that out. Also for the names Im sorry like i know why but it bugs me out so much trainers dont name their pokemon in games like please please, i would LOVE to see how some of these characters would actually name their pokemon  
> \- This fic probably would not exist if the game hadn't validated a little headcanon of mine. like you know how you can do the champion cup rematches? Well the first time I did, Raihan 🤔 just coincidentally 🤔🤔did not show up🤔like gee wonder why 🤔 you would come for the first time when leon isnt champion anymore 🤔🤔🤔  
> \- Also I feel so bad cuz I realized I forgot about Torkoal and Turtonator after the fact and then I didn't know where to fit them in kjfe. Also took some liberties with Raihan's team as you can tell. He is the weather man  
> Also english and writing were always my worst things in school so comments and crits are always welcome!
> 
> ANYWAY hope you guys enjoy this (￣▽￣)


End file.
